Taken Away
by Bloody Sword Alchemist
Summary: DISCONTINUED There is something out there looking for Chrono. What happenes when he sends someone out to find him? What happenes when Chrono is taken away? Sucky summary, I know.
1. Crash

_Disclaimer:_ Nope, don't own Chrono Crusade or any of the characters.

_A/N:_ This is my first shot at a Chrono Crusade Fan Fic, so please be gentle.

**Taken Away**

_Chapter One: Crash_

"Roseeette! You're going to _faaaasssttt!!_" howled Chrono, clinging to the seat as Rosette swerved the car quickly around a corner.

"Be quiet, Chrono. I'm driving," said Rosette sharply, her eyes focused intently on the road.

"Um…what is this demon going to be like?" Azamaria asked quietly. Chrono turned around to face her, gripping tightly to the back of his seat.

"It shouldn't be terribly difficult to deal with," he said. "It's more powerful than anything from the Legion, but it doesn't sound too strong. It has wings, so it will fly but we've dealt with flying demons be_foooorrree!!_" Azamaria squeaked as the car spun around another corner into a crowded, debris littered street. People fled past their car, running in the opposite direction. The purple eyed demon turned around slightly and saw why. Tearing through the streets, coming right towards them, was a huge gargoyle like demon. It ran on it's knuckles with bent knees, swiping at cars in it's way. One horn curled up from it's forehead.

"Rosette, stop the car! It's coming right at us!" yelled Chrono

. The demon bellowed and stopped it's pursuit of the fleeing humans. It flexed it's massive, leathery wings and turned it's head to face the car that was now spinning out of control, it's brakes screeching.

"Azamaria, get down!" shouted Chrono. The white haired girl ducked down on the floor behind Chrono's seat and covered the back of her head with her hands. Just then the demon took a swipe at the side of the car, it's huge clawed hand tearing through the side and lifting the car clear off the road. The car hit the side of a building and dropped to the pavement again with a crash, landing miraculously on it's wheels, it's engine smoking.

"Rosette? Chrono? Is everyone okay?" asked Azamaria timidly, getting to her knees, still wedged safely between her own seat and Chrono's. Steam trailed in through a large tear in the side of the car behind Azamaria.

"Ow ow… I'm just bruised. Are you all right, Az?" asked Rosette, putting a hand on the large bruise that was swelling on the side of her face. Azamaria nodded, shaking bits of glass out of her hat. Both girls waited for a moment, then frowned.

"Chrono? Are you okay?" Rosette asked and looked around. Chrono wasn't in his seat. The glass from the window by Chrono's seat was gone; just under where the window should have been there was a large hole in the door where the demon had hit the car, nearly identical to the tear behind Azamaria.

"Oh, God, no…Chrono! _Chrono!_" yelled Rosette. She kicked the door open and leapt out of the car, ignoring the glass from the broken window that tumbled like rain from her dress. Lying a little ways in the road, amid some shattered glass and scraps of metal was an almost child sized figure in a red coat with long purple hair pulled back in a braid. Rosette pulled out her gun and ran forward, dropping to her knees beside Chrono. Azamaria ran after her, white hair tossed this way and that by the wind from the demon's roars.

"Chrono, wake up. C'mon Chrono, there's a demon to fight! Wake up!" said Rosette, shaking Chrono's shoulder slightly. He opened his red eyes just a crack and looked up at her. He grinned slightly.

"I'm…fine," he said in a pained voice. "Just a bump on the head, that's all. Really." Rosette sighed in relief.

"Rosette! The demon—!" cried Azamaria from behind her. Rosette looked up and saw the drooling demon towering over her, one hand raised. She raised her gun and fired a few rounds of Sacreds at it. The demon roared and stumbled back. Chrono struggled to his feet and stood with one hand clutching his other arm to his side.

"Chrono, you're bleeding!" said Azamaria. Rosette re-loaded her gun and turned to look at him. That was when she noticed the dark stains on his right arm.

"Is your arm the only thing hurt?" she asked. Chrono hesitated a moment, then nodded. Azamaria cocked her head on one side and looked at the stain closely.

"Then why is your side stained with blood too?" she asked. Chrono flinched.

"I-it's just the blood from my arm," he said hesitantly. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Rosette growled and fired again.

"The Sacreds—aren't even slowing—it down!" she said. "Chrono, did the Elder give you any more Gospels?" Chrono nodded again and took a small box out an inside pocket. He tossed it to Rosette, then staggered to the side and fell to his knees.

"Chrono, are you sure you're all right?" asked Azamaria. Chrono clutched his side and gasped.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, looking up at the worried girl. He face changed suddenly from pained reassurance to surprise and horror.

"Azamaria, look out!" he said, forcing himself to his feet and shoving Azamaria roughly to one side. Azamaria yelped slightly when she hit the ground, then looked up and saw Chrono struggling in the demon's hand.

"Oh no! Rosette!" she said loudly, scrambling to her feet, not noticing the dirt that smeared her white clothes. She took a packet of Holy Water out of her pocket and got ready to open it when Rosette stopped her.

"Don't, Azamaria! You could burn Chrono!" The younger girl's mouth opened to form a small 'o' of realization, then she put the Holy Water back away.

"R-Rosette! Get behind him and fire at his calves!" grunted Chrono as the demon swung him back and forth, trying to avoid the bullets. Rosette re-loaded her gun with Sacreds again, keeping the box of Gospels close at hand.

"Azamaria! Come with me!" shouted Rosette, keeping her eyes fixed on Chrono. The girl nodded and dashed after Rosette as the blonde made her way behind the demon, whose attention was fixed on Chrono. Rosette aimed and fired a short round of bullets into the softer spot on the back of the demon's knees. The demon roared and dropped down to it's knees, beating it's wings angrily. It threw Chrono away from it, sending him sailing through the air into the side of a building. Chrono tumbled down and landed in a pile of discarded cloth bags, bricks, and wood.

"Chrono!" cried Rosette, grabbing Azamaria's hand and pulling her away from the thrashing demon. She ran up the pile and began digging through it, until she found her companion. There was a large cut on the side of his face, just under his eye. There were scrapes and bruises on his hands. Blood still seeped from the wound on his arm. A police officer ran up to the three of them, a gun in his hand.

"Miss, is he all right?" he asked, firing at the demon. His bullets had absolutely no effect at all, but it was a valiant effort.

"Do you have a medical team?" Rosette asked, all business. The man shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but we only have a small, basic medical pack right now," he said. "And no one here is a professional. We won't be able to do much for him."

"That's fine," said Rosette. "Just do your best. He's bleeding pretty badly and he's not conscious. At least try to stop his bleeding, please." Just then Chrono opened his eyes with a groan.

"Chrono, what's hurt? Is anything broken?" asked Rosette, glancing around to see the demon clambering back to it's feet, blood streaming from the back of it's leg.

"My…head hurts," Chrono whispered.

"Don't move," said Rosette softly. "A medical team is on their way."

"That's…good…oh Rosette. That demon…did claw me…on the side…" Chrono's head fell to the side and his eyes closed.

"No! Chrono! Hold on, they're coming. Azamaria! Stay with Chrono! Sing to him, keep him awake. Don't let him fall asleep," said Rosette, getting to her feet and turning to face the demon.

"Y-yes," Azamaria said breathlessly, kneeling down next to the bleeding demon. Thinking fast, the pale girl closed her eyes and hummed a note. Then she started to sing. No one really paid attention to the words, just the beautiful notes that sent a soothing energy over everyone near her. Chrono sighed and the pained look on his face vanished, replaced by peace. Then she stopped and turned to Rosette, tears in her eyes.

"Rosette…I can't heal him. Something's wrong with my powers," she said. Rosette bit her lip and fired at the now furious demon's eyes. The bullet missed but drew the demon's attention away from Chrono and Azamaria.

"Then just—hold his hand—or something and—talk to him about—anything. Ask him—to respond—sometimes so he—won't fall asleep," Rosette grunted as she fired over and over again to keep the demon moving away from her friends. A small group of men with boxes of medical supplies dashed over to Chrono, keeping a wary eye on the blonde girl that was drawing the demon away from them. Rosette could just hear Azamaria's voice as she re-loaded her gun saying:

"It's okay, Chrono. The medical people are here now, they're going to help you. Are you listening?" Rosette didn't hear Chrono's respond as she started firing again. _Man, I am going to need ask the Elder for more Sacreds,_ Rosette thought, now aiming for the demon's head. There were bursts of light as the bullets hit, but they didn't penetrate the demon's skin. _I think I'm far enough away now, _she thought. She pulled a Gospel out of the box and loaded it into the gun.

"Bring peace to the lost lamb," she began. "I bid thee give rest to the fangs of the wolf—" Suddenly the demon's tail lashed out at her and sent her sailing back, the gun knocked from her hands. She didn't go far; she hit the ground and rolled a few feet. The demon roared and looked around. Seeing Rosette down, it lost interest in her, believing her to be dead already. It turned it's head and saw the group of police surrounding Azamaria and Chrono. It's red eyes flashed and it roared again. It beat it's wings and limped over to them at a frighteningly fast pace. The few police that saw it coming fired at it but regular bullets did nothing to it. It took a swipe at them, sending them flying.

"Azamaria! Chrono!" shouted Rosette, crawling forward on her hands and knees, trying to find her gun. Azamaria threw herself over Chrono's body, screaming in fear but still protecting him. The demon heard her screaming and must have heard God's power in it. It bellowed and swiped it's hand down to grab her, tossing it's head back and forth. The sides of it's claws smacked Azamaria in the chest and stomach, making her roll away her hands over her head. The tips of it's claws hooked in Chrono's dirty red cloak and lifted him up. Just them more cars screeched down the road and skidded to a stop just near Rosette. A girl dressed in a blue and white outfit like Rosette's own with pink-ish hair jumped out, two guns in her hands. She was followed by a girl with short blond hair and another with long brown hair. All of them were dressed the same and all of them had guns.

"W-what are you guys doing here?!" gasped Rosette in surprise, clambering to her feet. The three girls gaped at her.

"What happened to you?" they asked. It was then that Rosette realized that she had a large bruise on her forehead and a scrape on her cheek. Not to mention her outfit was covered in dirt and dust. For an answer, Rosette pointed behind her to the demon.

"That thing is still alive?!" they yelped as more people from the Magdalen Order leapt out of their cars.

"We got news that the demon was on a rampage and you guys were having trouble stopping it," said Remington, smiling. Then the smile vanished when he looked at the demon. "Rosette, is that _Chrono_?" Rosette turned around and covered her mouth with her hand. She saw Chrno dangling limply from the demon's grasp and held her gun up to fire. Then Remington's hand came down and redirected the barrel of her gun so it pointed at the ground.

"Don't fire that," he said. "You could hit Chrono." There was the sound of rapid gun fire from behind the demon and saw more from the Order behind it.

"Cease fire!" shouted Rosette, waving at the people. "_Cease fire!_" The demon screamed in pain as the bullets ripped into it's legs and the backs of it's wings. It tightened it's grip around Chrono's body and roared. It began pumping it's wings until it rose off the ground, then it rose faster and faster until it soared away, Chrono's small form hanging limply in it's grasp.

_Okay, so I don't know if I got the whole 'Bring peace to the lost lambs' thing right. I can't remember exactly what she said. Please review!_


	2. Search

_Disclaimer:_ Nope, don't own Chrono Crusade or any of the characters.

**A/N:** Sorry, it took me a while to get updated. I got kinda stuck. Anyway, there will be torture in this chapter. Physical torture. Nothing sexual, don't be sick minded. I don't even know why I wrote it! If anyone has read my other stories, you will know that I have a co.-writer named Pringle. Don't ask why his name is Pringle. It just is. I'm pretty sure he was the one who came up the torture scene in this chapter. There's not a whole lot in this chapter, there will probably be a little bit more in the next chapter. I'll try to continue this story until I finish it, something I have yet to accomplish with any story, FanFiction or otherwise. I'm sorry if Chrono seems a little out of character here. I know, I know, I spelled Azmaria's name wrong in the last chapter. Sorry.

**Taken Away**

_Chapter Two: Search_

"Where's Sister Rosette?" demanded Sister Kate, glaring at Remington. "I heard she destroyed a car again." Remington bit his lip looked away. Sister Kate watched this unusual behavior suspiciously. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"Well, yes, actually," replied Remington. "For one thing, the demon got away—"

"_What_?! It got _away_?!" shrieked Sister Kate, rising to her feet and knocking several objects off her desk.

"That's not all," said Remington quickly, before she could start shouting again. "It took Chrono with it." There was a moment of tense silence and Sister Kate dropped down into her chair again.

"It took him by force?" she asked quietly, her eyes closed.

"You're still suspicious of him, aren't you?" teased Remington. "But yes, it took him by force. It seems Chrono was badly injured beforehand. The demon attacked their car before they could get out, that is how it got destroyed. Both Rosette and Azamaria stayed in the car when the demon threw it. Chrono, it seems, was thrown completely clear of the car. The worst injury either of the girls received was a bruise. We don't have a clear medical status on Chrono, but it looked pretty bad. A few bystanders said they saw the demon throw Chrono into the side of a building. The demon snatched him up and flew away before the police could tell how badly he was injured." Sister Kate covered her face with her hands.

0oo0

Rosette paced up and down in the courtyard, thinking hard. _Why did the demon take Chrono? Why did it attack Chrono in the first place? _She was determined to figure it out.

"Rosette?" asked Azmaria. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest?" Rosette turned on her heel and looked at the pale girl.

"How can I sleep or rest when Chrono just got snatched away by a demon?" she demanded. "He's my friend! Who knows what could be happening to him!" Azmaria shrank back slightly.

"T-then how about some food? You haven't eaten since we came back."

"Fine. Food sounds good." Rosette sank down onto the grass and sighed. _Why? Why Chrono? Of all people, wouldn't a demon be after Azmaria?_

0oo0

"Well…this is unexpected. I wasn't expecting another demon to come here." On a stone terrace, far outside the city, there was a shredded bloody mass. In the shadows stood a figure, his face completely hidden. In his arms he held a child-sized form, dressed in a red coat. "Very unexpected. And what a surprise he's brought me. I certainly wasn't expecting to see _you_ here." He looked down at the slightly tanned face, framed by purple hair. "Still, this might all work out. You never know…"

0oo0

Rosette didn't rise after Azmaria went to get food for the both of them. She laid back and stared up at the clouds, her thoughts running around in circles. _Why did he take Chrono? Who would be after him? And what purpose did it serve? If it was working for Aion, wouldn't it have been after Azmaria? Unless he's using Chrono as bait…to lure me to him and leave Azmaria behind? No…I would take Azmaria with me! But then she'd be in direct danger from Aion himself…maybe it's not Aion? But who would be trying to find Chrono?_ Rosette huffed in anger and closed her eyes. _This is getting me no where_.

"Rosette…?" She opened her eyes. Above her stood Azmaria, carrying a small tray of food. Rosette sat up and turned around. Azmaria se the food down and dropped down next to her.

"Is Chrono going to be okay?" she asked. "I'm worried about him." Rosette plastered a fake smile on her face and laughed.

"Ha, I'm sure he'll be fine. Chrono's tougher than he looks. Nothing will happen to him, I promise."

"But—" Rosette put a finger on Azmaria's lips to silence her.

"He'll be fine, trust me." Without saying another word, Rosette reached down and grabbed a roll off the tray. She tore it in half and held out a piece to Azmaria. The girl took it, but didn't eat it. They sat in silence for a moment, Rosette munching on the roll and some other foods off the tray. As Rosette swallowed her last bite of food, she stood up and held out her hand to Azmaria.

"Come with me," she said. Azmaria blinked and pulled herself up.

"But where are we going?" she asked, letting Rosette pull her along.

"We're going to look for Chrono," said Rosette confidently. "We'll find him in no time."

0oo0

Chrono's eyes opened slowly. The first thing he noticed was he was laying on what felt like a stone slab. Everything around him was dark except for a flickering torch at the far end of the room. Then he realized that someone had bound his hands to the stone with black rope and had untied his hair so it was fanned out around him. Turning his head, he searched the shadows with crimson eyes. _Where am I? Where's Rosette?_ He tried to sit up and felt white hot pain in his wounds. He looked down at himself and saw that his wounds had been bandaged. Not well, perhaps, but well enough to stop the bleeding. Just then he heard the soft sound of footsteps.

"Hello?" he called and the footsteps stopped. From the far shadows came the sound of laughter.

"Well, well…I was wondering how long it would take for you to wake up," said a voice. The figure remained hidden, not letting himself be seen.

"Who are you?" asked Chrono, straining against his bonds. Again, the voice laughed.

"Why would I tell you?" Then the figure stepped out of the shadows and Chrono craned his neck to see him. He wore a black mask that covered his entire face, leaving only small holes for his eyes. He was wearing a big black cloak, concealing everything about him. The hood was pulled up over his head and the flaps were wrapped close about him. Only his arms weren't bound by the cloak. Black sleeves covered his arms and he wore dark gloves on his long-fingered hands. Chrono's eyes widened. In one hand the man held a sharp, serrated knife and in the other he had a long whip.

"I don't really like you, Chrono," hissed the man from behind his mask. "I want to fight you. But in that weak, injured form…it wouldn't be any fun!" He flicked the whip so it lightly brushed Chrono's forehead. "In your true form, it would be much better. What do you say? Can you release the seal that binds you to that girl?" Chrono gaped at him. _How does he know about my contract with Rosette? _

"No," said Chrono. "I'm not releasing the seal." The man sighed.

"That complicates things. Oh well. That's what I brought these for." He waved the whip and the knife. "You won't keep fighting me for long."

0oo0

"Rosette? Where exactly are we going to look for him?" asked Azmaria. The new car felt somewhat empty without the small demon in the front seat.

"Well, the Order's been getting some small leads on where the demon was last seen, so we're heading there." The car rumbled and growled, bouncing down the little used path. Ahead of them were rocky hills in front of cliffs and mountains. "Someone said they saw a demon fly away into those hills. We might be meeting some other's from the Order there."

"But what if there are more demons waiting there too?" asked Azmaria.

"We'd blast them away, one by one," said Rosette, taking one hand off the steering wheel and making it into a gun, firing at imaginary demons. She dropped her hand back to the wheel and stiffened. She thought she heard a faint buzzing. She looked around, then heard it again. She looked down and saw that her contract-clock was vibrating. Small flashes of static were jumping around over it's face. _What? Is Chrono opening the seal? Why would he?_

0oo0

Chrono yelped again, the whip stinging across his already striped chest. His shirt was in ribbons and stained with blood.

"Are you going to open the seal now?" asked the man. Chrono trembled, every nerve quivering in pain.

"No," he finally said. The man shook his head.

"Such stubbornness…" he said. He set the whip down and walked closer. He found one of the cuts on Chrono's chest and smiled. He placed the tip of the knife in the corner of one of the cuts and felt Chrono tense. Not pushing very hard, he slowly traced the tip of the knife through the cut. Jolts of pain flashed in the wound as the serrated edge caught on tiny nerve endings. Chrono felt tears in his eyes as he bit his lip. He felt himself unconsciously reaching out for the seal, searching for his old power so he could stop the pain and heal the wounds. As the man withdrew the knife, he reminded himself that he wasn't going to release the seal, no matter what. The man pressed the tip of the knife against the tender, inflamed skin around the wound; he didn't let it break the skin but made sure that Chrono could feel the hot, throbbing pain.

"Still not going to open it?" asked the man. "That's a mistake. See, no one will find you here. No one will see you. No one will hear you. Only I know of this place. How long do you really think you can last? I won't let you die, not yet. Not for a few days. There are too many of us that are…mad at you. I wouldn't want to disappoint them, would I? No, I'll keep you alive for as long as it takes." He found another cut and pressed down harder. As he screamed in pain, Chrono realized that the man was telling the truth.

0oo0

On a small, remote path just a few miles from the stony hills, a car careened wildly from one side of the road to the other. Inside, the frightened cries of a young girl could be heard, calling the name of the other.

"Rosette! Rosette, what's happening?" But her companion didn't hear her. Soon the entire car was filled with a roaring, crackling sound and shafts of red light intertwined with black shot out from the windows. The screeching tires and howling wind drown out the younger girl's cries.

0oo0

What do I think I'm doing?! I'm torturing Chrono! Why? I didn't really write the torture part. Pringle wrote it, and I changed it a little and added it in. Why he wrote it, I have no idea. Pringle, you're so cruel.

Pringle: Am not.

Bloody Sword Alchemist: Listen. Chrono is one of my favorite characters of all time. Why are you torturing him??

Pringle: Ya didn't have to put it in the story, ya know.

Bloody Sword Alchemist: I know. Shut up now, anyway. You should go to sleep now, we have school tomorrow.

Pringle: Hey, I'm not the one who has two pages a math homework. Why aren't ya working on it?

Bloody Sword Alchemist: I thought you hated my voice of reason. Why are you acting like it?

Pringle: Dunno.

Bloody Sword Alchemist: Then be quiet. I have an author's note to finish. Okay, so there will probably be big time gaps between each time I post. These chapters are hard to write! I'm trying not to make these two short, either. The first chapter was five pages long in word on my computer, and this one's like 5.5 or six or something like that. Well, I think that's all. For now.

--Sinner


	3. Contract

**A/N:** I am so so so so sorry! I know I haven't updated any of my stories in so long! I kind of hit a wall and didn't have any inspiration. (cries) I'm going to try and get Wolf updated as soon as possible. But my computer has been having some problems lately and it's been difficult to get onto FanFiction, let alone posting, so I won't be able to write anything for a while. This chapters leaves you at a horrible cliffhanger and I am so sorry. But you're going to have to deal with it until my computer starts working again. Enjoy!

**Taken Away**

_Chapter Three: Contract_

Smoke rose from the crumpled car, it's front end smashed against a tree. Azmaria raised her head from the back of the seat and looked around. There was a small cut with dried blood on it across her forehead, but she seemed to be otherwise unhurt. She brushed her white hair out of her face and looked over the seat at Rosette. The blond girl was draped across the steering wheel, a few stray sparks still crackling around her. Azmaria climbed into the passengers seat and gently shook Rosette's shoulder.

"Rosette?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?" The blond girl groaned slightly, then blinked. Her eyes were dazed, distracted.

"What…happened?" she asked. Azmaria helped her sit up and noticed something different about the watch Rosette wore around her neck. The separate panels were spread out and the face was an odd color. Rosette noticed her staring and looked down. When she saw the watch she almost jumped out of her seat.

"Rosette…?" asked Azmaria, startled by the other girls reaction.

"Why?" Rosette mused aloud. "What could have happened? Why would Chrono open the seal?"

0oo0

"Yes…" hissed the man, withdrawing his knife. "That's more like it. Return to your true form, Chrono." Chrono's back arched again, snapping the bonds that tied him to the table. Power surged through his small body, easing the pain and healing his numerous wounds. Black light swirled all around him, blowing his un-braided hair everywhere. Then he felt a blinding heat swell through his veins and everything went white. When everything returned to normal, Chrono found himself standing over the man, the torches on the walls flickering. He looked down at himself and his crimson eyes widened. His fingers were longer, his clothes had changed, and his old power was flooding through him. Every wound that had been inflicted upon him was gone: the marks from the whip, the lacerations from the demons claws, the broken bones, even the internal bleeding he had felt before was completely gone. Then it occurred to him what all this meant.

"You released the contract, yes," said the man, his eyes gleaming. "I wondered how long you'd be able to resist."

"No…" said Chrono, almost defiantly to himself. "I wouldn't…you must have done something to me…what did you do?!"

"That's a bit harsh," said the man. "I wouldn't do anything. Well, maybe…I guess you're will power just isn't as great as you thought it would be. The pain overwhelmed you, that's all." Chrono glared at the man. Chrono closed his eyes and tried to let the power drain back out of him, back into the clock. But to his horror he found that he couldn't release the power, not even a little bit of it. He opened his eyes and saw the man standing in front of him, arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked. "Are you going to kill me?" Chrono clenched his hands at his sides. An image of Rosette, kneeling down somewhere, pain etched across her face and the clock around her neck sparking, came into his head. He glared at the man, raw fury in his eyes. With a roar he lunged forward, his clawed hands outstretched. He took a swipe at the man's chest, subconsciously bracing his arm for the impact. He withdrew into a defensive position when he felt no contact at all. The man laughed as Chrono's claws passed right through him. He was surrounded by swirling black mist and then he vanished. With a soft hiss he reappeared behind Chrono.

"What's the matter?" he asked innocently. "Can The Sinner Chrono not even land one hit on me? How pathetic." Chrono spun around to face him, summoning spheres of crackling power in the palms of his hands.

"Ohh, good thinking," said the man, feigning fear. "What _am_ I going to do?" Chrono said nothing, then held his hands out in front of him, the orbs flying from his hands towards the man, leaving a sparkling trail in their wake. Both orbs punched through the man, leaving smoky black holes where they passed through his chest and stomach.

"That wasn't nice," he growled. The holes lingered for a moment longer, then slowly began to fill with black smoke. "That could have _killed _me, if you had aimed right." He vanished again, his cold laughter echoing around the stone walls. He reappeared on the other side of the room, standing next to a rack of weapons that Chrono hadn't noticed before. He pulled a thick, long bladed knife off the rack and swung it around a few times. Chrono saw an odd shimmer of color flash along the blade as it caught the light from a torch. The man narrowed his eyes.

"Now, Chrono…have a taste of my _true_ power!"

0oo0

Rosette wiped sweat off her forehead, her breath coming in painful gasps. She leaned back against the slope of the hill and resumed trying to figure out what to do about the clock. Azmaria sat down next to her, watching her with worried eyes.

"Rosette…are you going to be all right?" she asked. Rosette smiled.

"Course I…am," she panted. _I'm getting weaker,_ she thought. _But should I close the seal again? Chrono _must_ have had a good reason to open it…but what would have given him enough power to open it on his own?_

"Chrono's in trouble, isn't he?" asked Azmaria, looking at unsealed clock. Rosette closed her eyes and clenched her hands.

"I don't know," she said. "It…sure seems like it, though." _Chrono, what's happening? What happened to you?_

0oo0

"Is this the best you can do?" laughed the man, swinginghis long knife in a wide arc. Chrono leapt back, not even trying to counter his attack. He swiped at the man's outstretched arm, but it had no effect at all. His claws passed right through the man, wisps of black smoke clinging to his hand. One side of his ribs was numb, no pain coming even from the huge gash that had caused it. Only a small amount of blood trickled out, far less than there should have been.

"What are you?" Chrono demanded, leaping into the air and unfurling his wings. A soft yellow glow surrounded him and he hovered there, near the top of the cavern. The man laughed but didn't answer. He threw the knife up, sending it spinning towards Chrono, it's blade flashing faint shades of red and blue. Before Chrono could move it passed right through his right wing and stuck in the stone above him. Pain exploded in his wing; but it only lasted for a moment. The next second it went numb and Chrono dropped back down to floor, his wing hanging motionless at his side. The man looked up at the knife in the ceiling and sighed.

"Now look," he said. "You made me lose my weapon. Ah, but now I am disarmed. Are you going to attack me?" Chrono hesitated. The man shook his head. "Or are you going to stand there as you waste that girl's life away?" Chrono tensed and started to form another pair of blazing blue spheres on his palms. He charged at the man, gaining speed by the second. The man didn't move.

"You think that will hurt me?" sneered the man. "How pa—" With a roar Chrono passed right through him, following his burning spheres. The man choked, his eyes growing wide. While the rest of his body began to re-materialize, one of the orbs remained caught in the man's throat. He dropped to his knees, clawing at the orb. Chrono turned and stared at him in shock.

"Wh-what have you done?" the man gasped. The orb grew darker and darker, streaks of black now mingled with the blue. Wisps of smoke from the man's chest started drifting towards the orb, getting sucked into it faster and faster until the sphere was black as night. The man gave a horrible shriek and the now black orb seemed to quiver for a moment. Then there was a deafening roar followed by a sharp crack. Black smoke shot out from the man, filling the whole cave and clouding Chrono's vision. Chrono peered through the smoke to see the man vaporizing into the black smoke, leaving his black clothes in a pile on the floor. Once he had completely disappeared, an awful smell filled the cavern. Chrono coughed and the smoke entered his lungs and made it harder to breathe. Everything began to blur and spin before his eyes and Chrono covered his mouth. He looked around desperately for a way out, feeling the smoke burn his lungs. Finally he spotted a small crevice in the one of the walls, a sliver of sunlight shinning through. He staggered towards it, everything spinning enough to cause Chrono to fall to his knees once or twice. When he finally reached it, it was barely big enough for him to fit through. He scrambled out of it desperately, scraping his wings in the process. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and started coughing. He could actually see tendrils of the black smoke every time he coughed, vanishing in the sunlight. He took a few more breaths to ease the coughing and looked around him. His lungs and throat still burned, the fields and hills around him remaining blurry and indistinct. Something in the distance caught his eye; far off, against the blue sky, he could see a small tendril of grey smoke spiraling into the sky. Not knowing what he was planning on doing, he half-flew half-ran towards it, hovering when he could. He could only stay in the air for a few moments, due to his numb wing. _Seal it, Rosette…_he thought desperately. _Seal the clock!_

0oo0

Rosette didn't even bother opening her eyes when she heard Azmaria stand up. Her whole body trembled and throbbing pain raced through it like fire. But she didn't dare close her contract-clock, not if Chrono was in danger. _Where are you Chrono? _She remembered what she had done when he had first been taken away…

"Chrono! No!" Rosette shouted, running after the demon, pushing past policemen and members of the Order alike. The demon slowly gained distance, no matter how fast Rosette ran.

"Rosette! Stop!" shouted Remington, racing after her. Rosette's foot caught on a piece of rubble, sending her flying forward. She rolled a few times, then scrambled to her knees. Remington caught up with her and held her back before she could start running again.

"Let go!" she shouted at him, pulling against his hold. "Let go of me!" But Remington held fast.

"You won't catch it, Rosette," he said sadly. "It's too far ahead."

"I can't just let it _take Chrono_!" she argued, tears filling her blue eyes. "We have to go after it!"

"Rosette, calm down. We need to regroup, then we can send a search party out to find him." Rosette's shoulders slumped in defeat and the tears started to trickle from her eyes.

0oo0

Chrono gasped and dropped to his hands and knees. _I haven't felt this weak since before I made the contract with Rosette…_ he thought, frustrated. Just ahead he saw what looked like a car, though it was hard to tell through the haze that covered his vision. The smoke was trailing up from it's engine and it was smashed against a tree. His eyes widened in recognition when he saw a small, white figure standing next to it.

"Az…maria…" he breathed hoarsely, struggling back to his feet. He staggered towards her, each breath seeming to shred his lungs. As he drew nearer, he saw Azmaria turn towards him. He couldn't see her face, but he could hear her exclamation of joy. He dropped to his knees as she ran towards him. He saw her drop down next to him.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Her voice buzzed in his ears and he turned to face her. The world spun wildly and he felt himself falling. Then he looked up and found himself staring into Azmaria's pink-ish eyes. He could feel her arms around his shoulders and realized that his skin was icy cold in comparison to hers.

"Tell…Rosette…" he gasped. "To…seal it…seal the clock…" The last thing he saw was Azmaria's confused and worried face before everything faded into darkness.

0oo0

Bloody Sword Alchemist: Whew! That took a while. See, when I wrote chapter two, I didn't know who the guy in black was. I don't really know right now, actually. But I have a better idea than I did before. I want to thank Guardian Spirit Raina for the ideas. Anyway, sometimes I like to come up with nicknames for myself for my different stories. Just because I don't have anything else to do. For this one… it'll be 'Scarred Sinner'. Don't know how I came up with that name.

Pringle: Tha's a weird name.

Scarred Sinner: You shouldn't talk.

Pringle: Hey, it ain't my fault. Yer the one tha' named me that.

Scarred Sinner: Eh? I thought you didn't mind.

Pringle: Feh. Can ya jus' drop the whole matter?

Scarred Sinner: Fine, fine. But you started it.

Pringle: Did not.

Scarred Sinner: Whatever. Anyway, I would like to thank **Guardian Spirit Raina, Kai-Seiyen, Kira-Black Wolf, Steph 2, Avia Jenith, snekochan, pharitse, Angel Born of Darkness, Kendricks Alashane, and Mizu42 **for reviewing my story! I'm so happy you like my story. I'm also glad there are more Chrono Crusade Fans out there! Go Chrono Crusade! I'm done now.

HAHA! Did you think I was done? Okay, I said I was, but whatever. Just to torture you, I'm going to put a teaser for the next chapter right after this. The wording might change in the actual chapter, but it should be pretty much the same in the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter Four: Phantom **

"Rosette's not in her room!" The shout echoed through the hallways of the girls wing. Doors slammed open and people came running out.

"Someone tell Sister Kate!"

"What is everyone so worried about? Maybe she's just gone for a walk or something."

"Are you crazy? Rosette _never_ wakes up this early!"

"Now that you mention it, did she ever go to bed last night?"

"She must have gone after Chrono! I'll go tell Sister Kate!" One of the girls ran down the halls, calling for Sister Kate. She skidded to a stop as Sister Kate appeared in front of her, a lantern in one hand.

"What's going on?" she demanded of the flustered girl. She bent down and tried to catch her breath before explaining.

"Rosette's…room is empty…she never went to bed…" she panted.

"What?!"

0oo0

"Chrono? Chrono!" Azmaria called the demon's name, but he didn't stir. His skin was icy cold when she touched it. One of his wings was torn and there was a huge gash on his side. His breath rasped harshly and his lips were starting to turn a pale blue. Azmaria called for Rosette and she saw the blond girl struggle to push herself up on her elbows, farther away still on the hill. Her eyes widened when she saw the demon in Azmaria's arms.

"He told you to seal the clock," Azmaria said loudly. "Then he passed out!" Rosette didn't respond, just disappeared behind the rise of the hill again. Azmaria looked back down at Chrono. _Something's wrong…_ She put her head down next to his, and that's when she realized what was wrong. Chrono wasn't breathing…

0oo0

Heh heh… well, until next time, then!


End file.
